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Thursday, November 12, 2015

Republicans right to address education, but wrong on agenda | Cloaking Inequity

Republicans right to address education, but wrong on agenda | Cloaking Inequity:

Republicans right to address education, but wrong on agenda



During this week’s Republican debate in Milwaukee, the issue of K-12 education was again substantively ignored even though the focus of the debate was the U.S. economy. However, higher education was not left out of the debate as Senator Marco Rubio availed himself of a couple of opportunities to attack the U.S. higher education system. He posited that the system is “outdated, too expensive, and hard to access.” In the debate, he didn’t lay out solutions beyond his talking points, so I visited his campaign website to understand how he would “modernize” U.S. higher education. He argues that we need to “overhaul our outdated higher-education system” and more specifically “modernize higher education system to fit 21st century economy” in four ways:
  • Increase access to career and vocational education;
  • Better utilize apprenticeships and valuable on-the-job training;
  • Ease access to state colleges and online educational opportunities;
  • Increase hiring of non-degree holding workers.
First, I have a hard time understanding how the hiring of non-degree workers is in any way related to the modernization of higher education. To me that seems like the anti-thesis of valuing higher education and the skills necessary in a 21st century economy. I suspect you could argue that an increase in career and vocation education is part and parcel of that argument. To support this modernization Republicans right to address education, but wrong on agenda | Cloaking Inequity:

Seattle Schools Community Forum: Charter School Updates - National and State

Seattle Schools Community Forum: Charter School Updates - National and Stat:

Charter School Updates - National and State

Charter Schools - Dividing Communities since 1991




Where are we with the Washington State charter law?

As usual, waiting on the Supreme Court.  The last action that I see is that four former state attorneys general — Slade Gorton, Ken Eikenberry, Chris Gregoire and Rob McKenna - filed a friend of the court document, asking the Court to reconsider. This was filed right at the end of October which may have been on purpose - the Court does have to read and consider everything filed. 

I think the Court will politely tell all these people - thanks for the input but we got it right the first time.  They will say thanks for the input but outcomes from the ruling ("this will hurt other education initiatives the Legislature funds") fall on the Legislature to solve.  But the ruling on charters is separate from those.

I think the one bone the Court will throw out is asking the Legislature to fund the existing charters thru the end of the school year.  Given how late the Court ruled on the challenge and now, the lateness of their reconsideration, it's probably the right thing to do.

I myself just received in the mail today a glossy "How Do You Tell Him?" plea from a group, Act Now for Washington.  It seems to give up on the Court's 
Seattle Schools Community Forum: Charter School Updates - National and Stat:


Special Nite Cap: Catch Up on Today's Post 11/12/15



CORPORATE ED REFORM






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Special Nite Cap: Catch Up on Today's Post 11/11/15
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